Cod Salad with Grapefruit

The buttery cod, sweet-tart grapefruit, and a gingery sesame oil dressing make the most amazing seafood salad!

Remember back when I made those amazing Chicken, Rice, and Mango Wraps?  One of the things I said was that it made more dressing than you needed.  That dressing was too good to let it just live the rest of its days shoved back in the corner of my fridge.  

I wasn't going to let this wonderful dressing with its earthy hints from the sesame oil and sweet heat from the ginger go to waste! I thought that it would pair beautifully with seafood and citrus, and with that thought this Cod Salad with Grapefruit was created!

Ingredients.

For the gingery dressing you will need:

• Rice vinegar - you can use white wine vinegar, but rice has a more delicate flavor.
• Vegetable oil - I've used peanut oil, canola oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. They all worked!
• Mayonnaise - I like to use avocado-based mayo, but you can use your favorite.
• Soy sauce - I used low sodium.
• Ginger and garlic - I finely chopped ginger and garlic, but you could definitely use storebought garlic or ginger paste if you want them to dissolve in the dressing.
• Toasted sesame oil - be sure and get the toasted variety.

For the salad you will need:

• Lettuce - use your favorite type. I like to use butter or bibb lettuce since the fish is so delicate.
• Cod - you could also substitute salmon.
• Grapefruit - fresh, white or pink. Pink makes a pretty contrast with the fish.
• Fresh chives, parsley, or green onions for garnish - optional, but adds flavor and color.

Step-by-step instructions.

This comes together so quickly, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!

If you don't have leftover dressing prepare the dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk, or do what I do and put them in a mason jar and shake to combine.

Let the flavors of the dressing blend together while you section the grapefruit. Remove the peel and pith and cut the grapefruit sections and then you want to supreme them - follow this How to Supreme Citrus Fruit for guidance. Then cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Tear your lettuce into salad-sized pieces.

The cod cooks quickly so, prepare your plates first. Divide the lettuce and grapefruit segments between two plates. Drizzle with some of the dressing.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a little oil. While that is heating, pat the cod very dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. When the oil is just smoking, add the cod and cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side and carefully flip the fish over. A fish spatula comes in handy!

Cook for about 2 minutes on the other side. You could add some butter and baste the cod if you'd like.

Serve the salad with the cod on top, garnish with the green onions, and drizzle a bit more dressing.

Such a light and refreshing salad. This is prefect for those dog days of summer. It's also great in the winter when you want something a little lighter.

More main dish seafood salads.

Recipe.

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This was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for 2023.